All Rise...

Judge Patrick Naugle is all wet.

Editor's Note

Our review of The Wave, published November 29th, 2011, is also available.

The Charge

It was only a matter of time.

The Case

It's good to see that Hollywood filmmakers aren't the only ones who know how to spin an old fashioned disaster movie yarn. Enter director Roar Uthaug's 2016 Norwegian action hit The Wave, starring a bunch of Norwegians that you've never heard of a giant wave that totally steals the movie right out from under them.

Beautifully, The Wave stays tried and true to its 1970s disaster classic roots. The film's set up is simplistic: in the small Norwegian village of Geiranger lives a population who's about to come face-to-face with a massive wall of water, care of a giant rock slide, which sets the 300 foot tsunami in motion. A geologist, Kristian (Kristoffer Joner), and his family live in the surrounding area and Kristian seems to be the only one who sees the tragedy coming (another staple of the genre). Soon the massive wall of water hits and everyone goes scrambling for their lives, including Kristian's wife Idun (Ane Dahl Torp) and son, who end up trapped in a bomb shelter under the hotel Idun works at. Kristian, leaving his terrified daughter in the care of survivors, sets off on a quest to find out if his wife and son have survived The Wave.

You've got to hand it to The Wave: the film hits all the required beats needed for a story like this. The main cast is introduced. Ominous signs—including tense music and birds flying the wrong way—are introduced. A secondary character who has second guessed the hero is killed. Then all hell breaks loose and everyone goes scrambling for their lives. In a way, The Wave is like a warm, fuzzy blanket that's been refashioned for a 2016 audience. It's cozy in its predictability.

Like the director of The Wave, I've been a big fan of classic 1970s disaster movies for decades. From producer Irwin Allen's The Poseidon Adventure and The Towering Inferno to lesser works like Avalanche and Meteor, there's something awesome about watching human have to survive the impossible. The Wave is exceptional at presenting a terrifying natural disaster and sending its characters through the wringer so they can live to see another day. From riding out a wall of water in a car to crawling through hotel air ducts to swimming through seas of icy cold water, the tension is retched up to pressure cooker levels. Although the film doesn't have the budget to rival blockbuster movies like San Andres or 2012, this is still an impressive effort.

The actors all do a fine job in their roles, though because The Wave was filmed in Norway, I decided to watch it with the English audio track (so the voices were all dubbed). Truth be told, this is not a movie where the acting requirements are very high. The actors scream, yell, look sufficiently terrified, and end up running/swimming/leaping for their lives. Everyone plays their part just fine. The special effects are well done with—what appeared to me—to be a minimum of CGI. While the wave itself is clearly digital, a lot of the other set pieces and settings appear to be filmed in real time, including a chase scene through a hotel with a thousands of gallons of water. Director Uthaug has studied the classics and understands how to wring maximum nail bites out of each scenes. Actors must find pockets of air on their way to safety, fire and explosions lurk at every turn, and panic eventually sets in (which usually spells the end for certain secondary characters).

Some movies require deep introspection while others are just all noise and action. The Wave falls somewhere in between—there's just enough characterization to make you care what happens to the hero and his family, but also enough classic troupes and action to make it a well deserved popcorn movie experience. The Wave works on both levels.

The Wave (Blu-ray) is presented in 2.39:1 widescreen in 1080p high definition. Magnolia's work on The Wave's transfer is exceptional—although this is a dark film, the image is clearly defined and features almost no imperfections or defects. The picture is crisp and clear with lots of sold black levels and intense colors. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby Atmos 5.1 Surround in Norwegian and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 Surround in English. Either track gives viewers a truly enveloping experience with tons of surround sounds and directional effects. Also included on this disc are English, French, and Spanish subtitles.

Extra features include a behind-the-scenes featurette ("Behind the Scenes of The Wave"), a look at how the filmmakers created the title monster ("The Wave Visual Effects Breakdown: Part 1", "The Wave Visual Effects Breakdown: Part 2", "The Wave Visual Effects Breakdown: Part 3"), an interview with director Roar Uthaug, and a theatrical trailer for the film.

The Wave delivers what it promises: a large wall of water and people trying to stay alive. Although this feels like a smaller, more compact version of a 1970s disaster movie, it's well told with excellent production values. Magnolia offers up a great looking transfer, an aggressive soundtrack, and a few decent extra features.

The Verdict

A fun tense disaster throwback.

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